Join us for an early kickoff celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month with an evening of special programs held in conjunction with ¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965–Now.
From 6:00 to 6:30 p.m., assistant professor of Latinx studies Hilario Lomelí will give a gallery talk in the ¡Printing the Revolution! exhibition focusing on Chicana feminism and the artwork of Ester Hernández.
From 6:30 to 7:00 p.m., Frist Art Museum docents will give tours of ¡Printing the Revolution! in English and Spanish.
From 7:00 to 7:30 p.m., chocolate historian Sophia Rea will present a chocolate tasting and talk in the Rechter Room, tracing the history of chocolate from Mesoamerica to the Spanish empire, to the modern West.
Gallery Talk
This talk explores the radical politics of Chicana Feminism through the visual artwork of Ester Hernández. Centering the figure of the chingona (“bad ass” or “bitch”), this interactive gallery lecture traces the queer, liberatory, and militant imaginaries in Hernández’s tender and urgent artwork while emphasizing her life-long participation in revolutionary social activism and organizing. Interpreting Hernández’s artwork as a testimonio of chigonas, the lecture underscores the capacious tradition of women and queer Chicanxs who break the rules.
About Hilario Lomelí
Hilario Lomelí is a Mellon Assistant Professor of Latinx Studies in the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Lomelí holds a PhD in curriculum and instruction from Penn State and is a former preschool teacher whose research examines care, violence, and the experiences of racialized children and youth in US schools. An advocate for youth and children, Dr. Lomeli’s scholarship and activism are oriented to building equitable and just futures.
Chocolate Tasting and Talk
In this presentation, chocolate historian Sophia Rea takes you on a delicious journey through chocolate’s past, present, and future. Your tasting includes an Aztec drinking chocolate from the oldest cacao farm in Mexico, dating back to 1823, and a Mexican drinking chocolate that is sure to delight! For visual context, Rea also showcases chocolate artifacts from her private collection.
About Sophia Rea
Chocolate historian Sophia Rea, former chef to entertainers and Atlas Obscura course instructor, hosts deliciously fun, interactive, and informative chocolate tastings and talks. With an extensive background in chocolate art history, she brings passion to audiences with palate-pleasing chocolate delights and cultivates curiosity with each taste. Featured in Chocolate Connoisseur Magazine and the Wall Street Journal, her yearly talk at the French Embassy in Washington, DC, is open to the public. She is a supporting member of the World Taste & Smell Association and the first person to create an olfactory training tool that is used by the World Cocoa Research Center, chocolate maker Shawn Askinosie’s Chocolate University, and patisserie chefs and chocolatiers worldwide.
You can visit her online shop, Projet Chocolat, where you will find lovingly hand-selected chocolate, educational tools, courses, vintage treasures, and accessories for your next event. She also hosts the Nashville Chocolate Salon! Sophia eats chocolate every day.
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